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Hazards Planning Center

Planning Information Exchange

With a new award agreement granted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the successful Planning Information Exchange (PIE) webinar series has been extended for two additional years, starting October 1, 2016. APA will continue to act as the lead in an agreement with FEMA, and ASFPM as a partner. The quarterly webinars will continue to revolve around four central themes:

  • The information exchange focuses on all hazards.
  • The information exchange focuses primarily on mitigation planning but also its connections with recovery planning and preparedness.
  • APA and ASFPM act as co-conveners of all planning exchange webinars. This means that both organizations will use their respective web-based meeting platforms to set up, register, drive, facilitate, record, and provide technical support for all webinar meetings.
  • Planning exchange hosts select topics and commit to moderate, present, and lead the planning exchange webinars.

Webinars

The Fire/Flood Dynamic: Linkages, Tools, and Actions

May 15, 2018

View the webinar presentation (pdf)

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CM | 1.5

2017 was a grim year for wildfires. Over 1 million acres burned in Montana and in California. Nearly 9,000 wildfires burned 1.2 million acres of land destroying over 10,000 structures and killing at least 46 people. Then in 2018, more than 30,000 people were ordered to evacuate in Santa Barbara County as an atmospheric river rain event occurred in the same wildfire ravaged area. Sadly another 21 people lost their lives as a result of flooding and mudflows.

Flood risk grows significantly in areas burned by wildfires and human encroachment in to these areas means lives and property is at stake. Yet there are things that can be done by property owners and local and state officials to lessen the risk.

ASFPM Executive Director Chad Berginnis will moderate as Michele Steinberg, manager of the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) Wildfire Division, and Traci Sears, Montana’s state floodplain manager & NFIP state coordinator, discuss:

  • How the aftermath of wildfires contributes to flooding problems, including mudflows
  • The data needed to better prepare and plan for the wildfire/flood dynamic
  • Understanding where the problems are now to mitigate wildfire risk
  • Communicating risk and taking actions in rural communities and urban environments, including the use of FEMA’s Flood after Fire Toolkit
Presenter

Traci Sears, CFM

Traci Sears, CFM, serves as the NFIP/CAP coordinator for the State of Montana in Helena. Her duties include conducting training workshops around the state, working with NFIP communities, conducting Community Assistance Visits (CAVs), and working on various projects through the state floodplain program. Previously, Sears was a planner for Flathead County Planning & Zoning Office in Kalispell for six years. Her duties included subdivision review, Conditional Use Application Reviews, Lakeshore Program, managing the county floodplain program and the CRS program, and working on the county’s first Flood Awareness Week. Sears received a B.A. in Criminal Justice from Florida Atlantic University.
Presenter

Michele Steinberg

Michele Steinberg is the division manager for Wildland Fire Operations at the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), where she leads a team dedicated to wildfire safety education, advocacy, and outreach. From 2002 to 2013, she oversaw the development and implementation of the national Firewise Communities/USA Recognition Program. Previously, she served as special projects manager for the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), hazard mitigation specialist for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) New England regional office, and regional planner for the Massachusetts Flood Hazard Management Program. She is the author of numerous articles and technical documents on disaster safety and mitigation planning, and currently serves on the executive committee of the American Planning Association's Hazard Mitigation and Disaster Recovery Planning Division. Steinberg holds a BA in English and American Literature from Brandeis University and a Master of Urban Affairs degree from Boston University.
Moderator

Chad Berginnis, CFM

Chad Berginnis became executive director of ASFPM in July 2012 after joining the the organization in 2011. Since 2000, he has served ASFPM as insurance committee chair, mitigation policy committees' coordinator, vice chair, and chair. Berginnis received his Bachelor of Science in natural resources from Ohio State University. Since 1993, his work has focused on floodplain management, hazard mitigation, and land-use planning at the state, local, and private sector level.

Past Webinars

  • Flood Hazard Mitigation in Historic Districts (January 31, 2018) CM | 1.0
  • Planning Integration for Resilience Scorecard (October 4, 2017) CM | 1.5
  • Naturally Resilient Communities (May 30, 2017) CM | 1.5
  • Post-Disaster Temporary Housing: Urban Planning Considerations (March 23, 2017) CM | 1.0
  • Subdivision Design and Flood Hazard Areas (December 2, 2016) CM | 1.0
  • State Resiliency Initiatives: From Issue to Action! (September 22, 2016) CM | 1.0
  • Combining Climate Adaptation and Hazard Mitigation Plans (July 7, 2016) CM | 1.0
  • Know Your Dam Risk! (May 6, 2016) CM | 1.5
  • Adapting Urban Vacant Land to Mitigate Hazards (February 26, 2016) CM | 1.0
  • Hazard Mitigation Implementation (December 10, 2015) CM | 1.0
  • Hazards Planning and Resilience: The Elected Official's Perspective (October 19, 2015)
  • Climate Change Adaptation & Resilience (June 30, 2015) CM | 1.0
  • The Role of Hazard Mitigation in Post-Disaster Recovery (May 6, 2015)

View Presentations from Past Webinars

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